Roadwork on the 35-km (22-mile) Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway got back underway on Feb 19 and, by the end of this year, the section between Hezhou North Interchange and East Airport Road will be the first part to open.

As of this report, 775 workers had returned to their jobs, while the remaining 69 percent are due back before March 15. Project teams have brought in some workers from less-afflicted areas by means of chartered buses and subsidized fares and are recruiting others in Guizhou Province.

To protect employees from viral infection, the construction sites are under real-name and enclosed management with strict health monitoring, disinfection, ventilation, and supervision. Prevention and control supplies are in place, as are quarantine zones.

Phase I construction of Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway [Photo by Zhong Fan / Zhuhai Daily]

The price and supply of raw materials are being coordinated with the government and sand and gravel companies.

As of late January, the Phase I lower bridge structure had been completed. The 18-km (11-mile) bridge-tunnel runs from the Jiangmen-Zhuhai Expressway in Baijiao Town of Doumen District and ends at Airport Expressway in Jinwan's Dalin Town. Being built are five interchanges at Hezhou North and South, Baiteng, Hongqi, and Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport. The next three sections of the first phase, other Hezhou North-Airport, will open to traffic by the end of 2021.

The second phase was undergoing bridge pile foundation and tunnel construction and soft foundation treatment by late January. The 16-km (10-mile) section, from Dalin Town to the Gaolan Port Expressway, will have interchanges at Nanshui and Gaolan and a service area. It is expected to open by the end of 2022.

Designed with a speed limit of 100 kmph (62 mph), the dual six-lane expressway will merge into the Gaolan Port Expressway and proposed Huangmao Sea Channel Bridge. It will cut travel time between Xiangzhou District and the Gaolan Port Economic Zone to 30 minutes. Jiangmen and western Guangdong will also be reachable within an hour.